Charles c



Umbrien STATES CHARLES c. HAR'rUNG, or s'r. Louis,

MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR '[O` THE MISSIS- SIPPI GLASS COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

wAsHBOARD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 525,416, dated September 4, 1 894.v

Appiimion flied Apn'i zo. i894.

To all whom it may concer-n:

Be it known thatl, CHARLES C. HARTUNG, alcitizen of the United States, residing at the city of St. Louis, State of Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improveinent in Vashboards, of which the'following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had ,to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, wherein like letters of referencerefer to likeparts wherever they occur, and in which- Figure l is a perspective view of the upper portion of a washboard, illustrating my invention, the head piece 'being shown in a normal or central position. Fig. 2 is a similar v iew illustrating a modified form of connection between the head-piece and side rails. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the upper portion of a washboard, the head piece being dethe head-piece will assume when the washboard is dropped. My invention relates to a new and useful improvement in washboards, and consists, generally stated, in providing the saine With a movable head, and in connecting said head to the board proper by a yielding connection. This invention is particularly designed for use in connection with Washboards inwhich the rubbing surface -is made of glass or other friable material. Y

The object of the invention is to provide a yielding head of such dimensions that, should the board be dropped, the points of contact with the floor or ground will be yon the legs and head, which head will absorb the shock or jar without communicating it to the glass rubbing surface, and thus prevents said rubbing surface from becoming broken.

In the drawings, A indicates the side rail, vB, the dashboard, O, the soap shelf, and D,

Serial No. 508,246. (No` model.)

nection between the head and side rails, at v the same time offering a stop to prevent too i great side movement to the head. The tenon and cross-groove or mortise connection between the head and side rails may, however, be entirely dispensed with, as shown in Fig. 4, inwhich the head has no connection Whatever with the side rails, except as will hereinafter be described.

Referring to Fig. 1:-F indicates abent wire or rod in the form of a spring, Whose ends pass through or are secured to the head-piece E, theloop of said piece F passing through the dashboard, and the arms near the loop being secured to the side rail by staple f, thus adding ri-gidity to the piece F at its lower end. The action of this spring F is normally to hold the headpiece E in a central position, as shown in Fig. 5, said headpieceprojecting beyond the side rail, but, should the Washboardr be dropped upon the floor or ground, the legs thereof will strike, as will also the headpiece E, which will move said headpiece to the side, as shown in Fig. 6, said lateral movement of -the head-piece absorbing the shock or jar through the tension of the springs F.

Referring to Fig. 2:-1 have shown a wire spring or rod G, which extends from'side rail to side rail, to which it is connected, the upper curved portion of said wire being secured to the head-piece E, While staples g, near the ends of said wire, add rigidity thereto, but leaving the middle portion free to play. It is desirable that one of these wires G be arranged on each side of the Washboard..

Referring to Fig. 3:-I have illustrated another form of yielding connection for the head-piece E, which consists in loopingover said head-piece and fitting into a grooveformed on its upper side, to prevent displace-V ment, a loop H, whose ends are crossed and secured to the side rail, by staples, as shown.

Referring to Fig. ftz-I have illustrated another form of yielding connection for the head-piece, which is substantially the same IOO as that illustrated in Fig. 1, save that the connection is more resilient, due to the fact of a double U-shaped lower portion. I have marked the wire in'this instance I.

I have shown several forms of yielding connections for the `head-piece, all tending to a common result, to make the same yielding,

and it is obvious that there are many other `3 forms which could as easily be employed for the same purpose. Therefore, I do not wish to limit myself to the exact construction herein shown and claimed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination with a washboard, of a` laterally yielding head-piece for absorbing a shock or jar, said `head-piece being of such width as to project beyond the side rails,sub stantially as described. v

2. The combination with a washboard, of a head-piece which is wider than the side rails of the board and which head-piece is movably mounted upon the board, and a connection between the head-piece and board comprising spring wires which are secured to both of said parts, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a washboard, whose rails are formed with tenons on their ends, of a headfpiece formed with a mortlse larger than said tenons to receive the same and permit a play between the parts, and a connection between the head-piece and board, comprising spring rods or wires attached to the respective parts, substantially as described.

In testimonywhereof I hereunto afx m'y signature, in presence of two witnesses, thls 14th day of April, 1894.

CHARLES C. IIARTUNG.

Witnesses:

F. R. CoRNwALL, HUGH K. WAGNER. 

